EU Parliament: rule of law in Hungary, debate today with Orban and vote on procedure for the “defence of European values”

(Strasbourg) In response to questions from MEPs during the debate on the Future of Europe, Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras stated: “The logic of everyone for themselves, of ‘Greece first’, ‘Hungary first’, ‘Italy first’ will only lead to the end of Europe”. “At this time – he added – the serpent’s egg is hatching in Europe, as it happened in the 30s” when totalitarian regimes led us to war. “It is a real threat – according to Tsipras – that we should tackle together”. And today the European Parliament will discuss the rule of law in Hungary with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, before deciding whether to start infringement proceedings against the country for a serious breach of EU values. Orbán will take the floor at the beginning of the debate, early in the afternoon. The Parliamentary Committee on Civil Liberties has concluded that “Hungary is at clear risk of such a breach and has called on Parliament to invite the EU’s Member States to trigger the procedure laid down in Article 7, Paragraph 1, of the EU Treaty so as to counter a threat to the founding values of the Union, including respect for democracy, the rule of law and human rights”. The proposal for a legislative initiative, drafted by Dutch MEP Judith Sargentini, needs to be backed by two-thirds of the votes cast and an absolute majority of MEPs, that is at least 376 votes, in order to be adopted and transmitted to the EU Council of Ministers. It would be the first time that the Parliament adopts an initiative recommending the activation of Article 7 for a serious threat to the rule of law. The vote is scheduled for tomorrow.